


College Crush

by Roxiepluto



Series: DigiOTP Week 2017 [5]
Category: Digimon Tamers
Genre: College AU, DigiOTPweek, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-22
Updated: 2017-08-22
Packaged: 2018-12-18 15:03:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11877021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roxiepluto/pseuds/Roxiepluto
Summary: “Leave or I’ll start really fighting,” said the martial artist, his voice oozing confidence and calm that made Takato breathe easier just by listening.Takato doesn't always get mugged on the way home but when he does, he certainly doesn't normally get saved by a handsome martial artist with a love of digimon. Today must just be his lucky day.





	College Crush

“Give us your wallet.”

Takato blinked out of his daydreams and looked up from where he had been walking home from his art club. There was a big guy standing in front of him, and one to his side. He glanced behind him to see that there was a guy behind him too and the wall was at his other side. His muscles tensed as he realised that he was totally trapped.

“I don’t have my wallet with me,” he replied honestly, though he doubted they would believe that. After all, what sort of college student didn’t carry their wallet with them?

“Tch, yeah right,” said the guy in front of him before he was yanked back as his backpack was ripped off him by the guy behind.

“Hey!” he exclaimed, taking a step towards his backpack, before he was shoved back against the wall by one of the guys whilst the other two began pawing through his bag in search of either his wallet or anything valuable. He knew there was nothing they would be interested in in his bag but his final art project was in there and he didn’t want it ruined after how hard he’d worked on it.

His heartbeat was echoing loud in his ears as the adrenaline rushed around his system. But what was he supposed to do? He couldn’t fight off three guys by himself and if he ran, his project would be abandoned. He’d just have to wait until they realised he had nothing of value and leave…

“There’s nothing good in here!” exclaimed one of the men as he tossed out his schoolbooks. The other man pulled out a cardboard tube and Takato attempted to take a step forward but the guy standing by him shoved him back into the wall.

“Looks like the kid cares what’s in the tube,” explained the guy to the others and Takato’s eyes widened as he saw the man grin and open it, quickly pulling out the rolled up paper that had his final project on it.

The man’s grin quickly turned to a frown as he unravelled it. “It’s just some stupid art piece,” he exclaimed, tossing it behind him where it landed in a puddle on the floor.

Takato watched in horror as the paper began to slowly soak up the water, before the horror turned to anger, burning hot in his core. Did these assholes have any idea how long he’d spent working on that!

With a roar of anger, he pushed past the man keeping him to the wall and leapt on top of the man who’d thrown his artwork into the puddle. The man gave a cry of alarm and Takato managed to get in one good punch before he was hauled back and thrown hard against the concrete wall behind him.

He barely had time to orientate himself before he one of them punched him hard in the face, sending his head smashing back into the wall. Pain exploded in his head and he gave a cry of pain before he was punched in the face again and then in the stomach, making him double over and collapse onto his knees on the floor. That didn’t stop them though as they began to kick him, even as he curled up into a fetal position on the floor and closed his eyes, desperately trying to protect himself from the onslaught.

Takato heard one of the guys give a cry of pain and suddenly the kicking stopped. There was a sound of a scuffle and grunts of pain and he warily opened his eyes to see what was going on. There was a guy, decked out in a martial arts uniform, fighting off the three men like it was nothing. He didn’t actively hurt them, but merely deflected or reverberated their own attacks back at them, like he didn’t really want to hurt them. It was amazing…

“Leave or I’ll start really fighting,” said the martial artist, his voice oozing confidence and calm that made Takato breathe easier just by listening.

“Hmph,” said the first guy that had spoken to him, shoving his hands in his pocket, “S’not worth our time anyway.”

The other two guys seemed less keen to leave without doing something more but they both obediently followed the first guy as he walked away. The martial artist watched them closely until they turned a corner before he turned to Takato, his grey eyes as gentle as the breeze as he kneeled down next to him.

“You’re safe now,” he explained with a small smile as Takato slowly pulled his arms away from his face to look at the heroic stranger.

The boy’s eyes widened, “Shoot, you’re bleeding, do you need an ambulance?”

“No,” replied Takato croakily as he pushed himself gently off the ground, trying to ignore the way his face was throbbing unhappily. He still felt a little winded and his arms were grazed too from where he’d been thrown against the wall. “I’ll be alright.”

The boy looked less than convinced and said, “At least come inside the dojo for a bit; I can patch you up and it’ll give those thugs a chance to clear off.”

Takato looked into the boy’s eyes, searching for any ulterior motive but the kindness in his eyes was palpable and he realised he had nothing to fear as he nodded, “Thanks.”

Takato gently pushed himself up and onto his feet before he looked back over to where his final project was sitting in the puddle. It was totally soaked through and he took a step towards it before he found himself stumbling.

“Woah, there,” said the boy gently, pulling gently on his arm to help him stay upright before he shook his head, “Just stay there; I’ve got it.”

Takato frowned but did as the boy said as he watched him bend down to pick up all the books and other things that the men had thrown onto the ground. He swung the bag onto his back before looking down at the wet paper and giving a small hum. Takato was about to tell him to leave it, that it was ruined anyway, before the boy reached down into the puddle and gently rolled the paper back into a roll before he lifted it out. The boy was being so careful with all of his things…Takato felt incredibly grateful.

“Now it’s less likely to fall apart,” he explained as he stood up and turned to Takato with a small smile, “Now, let’s get you inside.”

Takato nodded, feeling a bit more stable on his feet now as he followed the boy towards the building that was nearby. Takato realised he was pretty lucky for everything to have happened right outside a dojo.

“My name’s Henry by the way,” the boy said, glancing back at him with the same gentle smile he’d been wearing since he first looked at Takato. It was a nice smile and Takato felt lucky that it had been such a kind a selfless person that had come to his rescue.

“I’m Takato,” he replied, doing his best to echo the smile, despite the pain that still swam around his face.

He followed Henry into the dojo, and it was only when he was taking his shoes off that he realised that Henry had run out to save him without even putting any footwear on. He’d really gone all out just to save a total stranger.

“Um…” he began, not really knowing what to say but knowing that he needed to say something, “I’m so sorry…are your feet okay?”

Henry glanced back, looking confused before he glanced down at his feet and gave a small laugh of realisation, “Oh yeah, no shoes…” He laughed again before nodding as he led him across to the chairs at the side of the dojo, “Don’t worry about me; my feet are fine. I’m more concerned about your face right now.”

“I’m sure it’s not that bad,” he replied, not wanting to inconvenience Henry any more than he already had. Henry raised an eyebrow at him and Takato clarified, “Okay, maybe it is but it’ll heal…” He trailed off as he looked at his artwork in Henry’s hand and frowned, “Unlike my artwork…”

Henry frowned, glancing down at the paper before he gestured for Takato to sit down, “Sit down for a minute and I’ll get something to patch you up.”

Takato nodded listlessly, moving his gaze to stare down at the ground instead as Henry wandered out of the room. He gave a sigh; he’d been working on his final project for months and just like that it had been ruined. He was going to fail all because of some stupid thugs and the fact that he hadn’t been carrying his wallet. He cursed himself for trying to save up money; he would have rather lost all his money than have ruined his project.

Suddenly a tissue was held in front of him and he blinked and looked up to see that Henry had returned from the other room already, a first aid kit in his hand. He gave a smile and accepted the tissue, doing his best to rub the excess blood from around his nose.

“How’s your stomach and chest feeling? Any broken ribs?” asked Henry as he ripped an antiseptic wipe out of its packet and gently dabbed at the graze on his cheek.

Takato could barely speak as he watched Henry concentrate on his gentle movements. He was being so careful not to hurt him any more than he already had been, and it made Takato feel a little strange.

“I don’t think so,” he managed to quietly reply after a moment, quickly glancing down to the bamboo flooring instead. Looking at the floor was safe.

“Why didn’t you just give them your wallet?” asked Henry, as his fingers gently prodded Takato’s cheek.

“I didn’t have it,” he replied, before sensing Henry’s next question and adding, “I’m saving up for something so I don’t carry it with me…”

“I guess that makes sense,” he said, still concentrating on Takato’s face. Takato couldn’t help but look over as he asked, “So, what are you saving up for?”

“Um…” Takato hesitated, not wanting to alienate himself so soon in the conversation, but knowing already that he didn’t want to lie to someone who had just saved him. “I’m saving up for the digimon convention next month…”

“No way!” exclaimed Henry, his eyes suddenly meeting Takato’s as they sparkled happily, “I’m going there too! I love digimon!”

Takato suddenly felt his earlier hesitation disappear as he grinned, despite the pain and said, “Really? I’ve never met anyone else our age who likes it. I keep getting told it’s just for kids but…I really love it.”

Henry nodded, obviously knowing his pain and they launched into the longest intelligent conversation he’d had about digimon since it first aired when he was a kid. He couldn’t believe that someone as cool as Henry still watched the show but he was excited to finally have someone to share his passion with.

Their conversation kept going until Takato realised how late it was getting; his parents would get really worried if he stayed out much longer. “I’d better head back or my parents will wonder what happened to me.”

Henry nodded, his expression one of understanding before he suggested, “How about I drive you back? I don’t feel right letting you walk home in case those guys are still hanging around…”

Takato didn’t want to impose and he wasn’t even worried about the thugs but he found that he desperately wanted to spend just a little more time with Henry before the evening was through so he nodded. “That would be really kind of you…thank you…”

Henry smiled at him, and said, “Let me just get your stuff and my car keys and we’ll head straight off.”

Takato nodded and watched as Henry strode back off to wherever he had been earlier and only when he was gone did Takato start to feel his heart calm down. He didn’t understand it but he felt strange when Henry was around; not bad strange…if anything good strange. And that was what confused him.

When Henry returned he had Takato’s backpack slung over his shoulders but he also had a box folder in his hands. Takato frowned and Henry smiled as he looked at Takato and replied, “I rolled your artwork out on top of some rice and also put some on top so hopefully it should drain the moisture out of it.”

Takato’s mouth fell open at the fact Henry really was going the extra mile for him but Henry carried on, “If you leave it 24 hours then it should get most of the water out but you can always bring it back tomorrow if you want and I’ll put some fresh rice in for you.”

Takato felt his cheeks flush as he shook his head quickly, “No, really, you’ve already done so much for me.”

“It’s my pleasure,” replied Henry before he gestured for Takato to follow him to his car.

He followed Henry out of the dojo and round the outside of the house, after slipping his shoes back on. The place was much bigger than he realised and after a moment he had the wherewithal to ask, “Wait; do you live here?”

Henry gave a small laugh from ahead of him, “Yeah, my family owns the dojo; that’s why I’m here so late.”

“Wow…” was all Takato could say as he followed Henry to the driveway where a small car was waiting. Takato didn’t know much about cars but he could tell it was well looked after, even if it was an older model.

Takato watched as Henry unlocked the car and then carefully placed his things in the boot before looking up at him with a wry smile, “You don’t have to wait for me; you can get in.”

Takato felt his face heat up again as he quickly got into the passenger seat and waited for Henry to come round. Henry smiled as he got in and asked, “So, where to?”

Henry started the car as Takato explained the directions and within moments they were off and driving down the road. Takato expected the drive to be awkward but they quickly slipped into easy conversation about digimon and college work and friends and family.

Takato couldn’t believe how easy it was to talk to him and he was almost surprised at the disappointment when they eventually stopped at his house.

Henry got out again to help Takato get his things out of the boot. Takato looked at the box file that Henry had given him and couldn’t help but smile over at him. “Thank you so much for everything Henry, I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t saved me.”

“It’s my pleasure, in fact…” Henry paused as he rummaged around his pockets, his face lighting up when he found whatever it was in his jacket. Takato watched as he pulled out a pen and a scrap of paper and quickly scribbled something on it before holding it out to Takato. “Call me if you ever find yourself at college so late again and I’ll happily drive you home.”

Takato took the paper but opened his mouth to protest. Henry beat him to it though as he replied, “No buts and you can text me about digimon anytime too.”

Takato laughed at the addition and nodded, unable to turn Henry down when he’d made such a kind offer. After all, Takato was more than happy to spend some more time with him. “Thanks Henry.”

“Take care Takato,“ he said, before ducking back down into his car. Takato gave a final wave before he retreated to his door, unlocking it quietly so he didn’t disturb his parents. Once it was open, he glanced back to see that Henry had waited for him to get in to make sure he was alright. Henry gave him a grin and a last wave before he drove off, leaving Takato to watch the car as it disappeared up the road and round the corner.

Takato looked down at the piece of paper and smiled. He couldn’t believe someone as amazing as Henry honestly existed. He was kind and thoughtful and he liked digimon too and he had saved him…Takato had never believed in perfect people but now he had been convinced. Takato felt his heart patter away in his chest at the thought of Henry’s smile before he came to, what should have been, an obvious conclusion. He had fallen head over heels for Henry…

**Author's Note:**

> I always like the main pairing of the main two guys in the digimon series and alot of people seem to for the adventure series but after that there doesn’t seem to be as much love from tamers onwards (though i have seen one amazing fanfic for these two). I think Henry is just the sweetest character ever and so is Takato so i think they would go well together.  
> I might do a continuation of this fic one day :)


End file.
